In The Grip of Evil: An Operation Overdrive Story
by Carla K
Summary: After Flurious is destroyed, a new evil stalks Andrew Hartford and the rangers when Mack is turned against them in an attempt to steal the Corona Aurora!
1. Chapter 1

IN THE GRIP OF EVIL

A Power Rangers Operation Overdrive Story by Carla Keehn

* * * *

There was a somber atmosphere in the Hartford Mansion that even the festive party decorations and abundance of food could not dispel. Spencer, the long time family servant, stepped back and gave the long tables running along the wall one last critical look. Satisfied, he turned to his employer.

"I believe everything is ready, sir."

"Excellent, Spencer, thank you," Hartford said, nodding to the older man. "If you'll let the others know that we're ready to begin?"

"Of course, sir."

Then long time servant left, leaving Andrew Hartford alone with his troubled thoughts.

The preceding months had been frantic so frantic that Hartford and his team of Power Rangers were looking forward to the upcoming opportunity to relax and celebrate the team's recovery of the Corona Aurora and its jewels.

_Not anymore . . ._ Hartford thought grimly. His thoughts wandered back several days to when the other rangers had found his son, Mack, unconscious.

Even though he'd called in the best doctors available, none of them had been able to explain the mysterious, debilitating illness that appeared to be draining the life from his son.

At that moment, He heard laughter and knew that Spencer and the other rangers coming. Hartford drew himself up and forced his worries to the back of his mind.

Later, after everyone had filled their glasses and piled food on their plate, Hartford raised his glass to the assembled group.

"Thank you," Hartford praised, "to all of you, for all that you did. I know that I've said it before but I think it needs to be said again; I couldn't have chosen a better team."

"Here, here!" Spencer agreed.

"There's no thanks needed, Mr. Hartford," Will replied, knowing that the others felt as he did. "It was a team effort."

"This party is great," Ronnie added, admiring the decorations again. "I just wish that Mack was well enough to join us."

"It was strange, wasn't it," Rose commented. "Mack's getting sick so suddenly."

"Yes, it was," Hartford said gravely.

"This whole thing with Mack really has me worried," Ronnie confessed. "How can we help him when no one knows what's wrong?"

"I know!" Dax jumped in. "The way the doctors were talking, you'd think that Mack's germs were alien or something!"

"The doctors are doing everything that they can," Hartford assured. "Hopefully Mack will be back with us soon. Until he is, I know that he wouldn't want his not being here to ruin the celebration for the rest of you."

At the same time, in another part of the house, a thin, darkly clad form was creeping along the hallway, darting in and out of each room with a sense of urgency.

_This has to be the one . . . _the intruder thought, pausing outside of the last room.

Sounds of loud conversation from another part of the house suddenly swelled up. The intruder tensed for a moment before retreating deep into the murkiness for cover.

Then the noise subsided. Satisfied that there was no danger of discovery, the uninvited guest ducked into the room, pausing in the doorway for a moment to adjust to the room's dim light.

With an animal like swiftness, a gloved hand swept the cloak away. Then the woman, Miratrix, moved forward, coming to rest alongside of the bed.

Hatred burned in her cold, brown eyes as she glared at the unconscious form in the bed.

Though time was precious, she allowed herself a moment to savor her enemy's condition. It gave her great satisfaction to see Mackenzie Hartford's drawn features and weakened condition.

_You don't look so strong now, Red Ranger . . ._She thought smugly.

She continued basking in thoughts of her recent accomplishments.

The younger Hartford's habit of reading outside, away from the other rangers, had made him an easy target. The poison, alien in origin, had worked quickly, just as she'd known it would.

_Just enough poison to make the Red Ranger weak, not to kill him. .._

And just enough to make sure that he continued to be isolated from the others. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

_Those annoying rangers are weakest when they're separated from each other . . ._

From within the confines of her uniform, she withdrew a vial of liquid and held it up to the light for a moment.

_The distilled essence of evil collected from Flurious' _

_remains_ . . .

Even though there was little more than a trace in the vial, she knew there was enough in it to do what she wanted.

_How foolish of the rangers not to realize that the power of the Corona Aurora would continue to exist even after Flurious _

_was destroyed . . ._

The woman dumped the contents of the vial into a glass of water that was on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Drink this." She ordered as she hauled the unconscious form up and pressed the glass to him.

At first there was no response to her words.

She scowled with impatience and forced the liquid into him until he began to choke.

"N-No," the young man muttered hoarsely, trying to push her away.

Mack's glazed eyes opened slowly and stared at her vacantly. The room swam in and out of focus for a moment as he struggled to clear the fog from his mind.

Then, a few seconds later, recognition registered on his face, rousing him from his drugged stupor like a splash of cold water.

"C-Can't be you," the younger Hartford gasped, struggling to pull free from her grasp. "Kamdor . . .defeated you . . ."

She laughed. "Fortunately for me, one of the blasts during your battle with Flurious freed me from my prison."

He continued to struggle. "Have - -to warn - - the others . . ."

"You're too weak to fight me this time, Red Ranger!" Miratrix laughed as she roughly shoved him back against the bed. "Now it's my turn to have the crown and all the power that goes with it. And not only will you help me but you'll also get rid of those other meddling rangers!"

"No," Mack refused, shaking his head, " I won't help you!"

"You don't have a choice. Soon, you'll be glad to do whatever I tell you to do."

"No!"

Fueled by the sudden rush of adrenaline, Mack launched himself towards the woman. Though weak, he managed to knock her off balance long enough to send the two of them crashing into the night table.

Back at the party, everyone, except Tyzonn, had raised their glass. Hartford had noticed from the start of the celebration that the Mercurian had been strangely subdued.

Hartford continued to study Tyzonn and frowned; it looked as if the blond-haired man was in some kind of distress.

"Tyzonn?" Hartford asked in quiet concern. "Is something wrong?"

"I – I don't know," Tyzonn replied quietly. He struggled for a moment to put into words the feeling of danger that had suddenly shaken him to the bone.

"What is it?" Rose asked, leaning forward.

"I – I -" Then, without warning, the Mercurian shuddered visibly, dropping his glass. He felt a chill run up his spine.

The others reacted in alarm and were quickly at his side.

"Tyzonn, tell us what's happening," Hartford said.

His pained eyes glanced at the sea of concerned faces around him. "I can't explain it but something feels wrong." Then he was on his feet, pushing past the others and moving towards the door. "I have to check on Mack."

"Come on, guys, let's go," Will ordered, motioning to the others to follow.

At the same time, Mack was quickly realizing that he was losing ground with Miratrix. Still groggy, the Red Ranger felt himself growing more and more frustrated with his uncoordinated efforts to block Miratrix's blows.

With one last burst of energy he grappled with her, tearing at the weapons at her side. Just then, without any warning, a throbbing pain began gnawing at his insides. The spasms grew sharper with each second until he had no choice but to give up the fight.

An angry Miratrix watched her enemy double over and crumple to the floor in agony.

"I should just finish you off now!" She raged.

"Go ahead!" Mack dared in a weak voice as he struggled, unsuccessfully, to get to his feet. "You'll have to kill me anyway because I won't help you!"

"Killing you would make things too easy for you!" She hissed. "And right now I have a use for you!"

She heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. Miratrix tensed nervously. "Not much time before the others come," she muttered, her breath coming in gasps. She stooped over the fallen ranger, rolling him over onto his side.

"Listen to me, Red Ranger," she ordered harshly. "You can't stop what's happening. The pain will only get worse if you try. Stop fighting and it will go easier for you."

"No . . ."Mack gasped between spasms. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to force his thoughts away from the pain.

"You can feel the evil devouring your insides as it takes over, I know you can!"

"No!" Mack groaned as the pain twisted his insides. " I can't - -won't –give - in". .

The pain continued to stab at him. Finally, desperate to stop his suffering, the injured ranger heeded his enemy's advice and became still.

Several minutes passed before the pain began to lessen. The room was spiraling in and out of focus, making his stomach churn. Feeling more dead than alive, Mack knew that he had no strength left to fight with.

"The evil is a part of you now, don't fight it." Miratrix chanted softly. "If you do, the pain will devour you until you beg for death!"

"Can't fight, "Mack moaned. "Can't fight you . ."

"Very good, Red Ranger," Miratrix crowed smugly. "I think you're ready to cooperate now. And this is what I want you

to do . . ."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

* * * *

Several hours later, an enraged Andrew Hartford paced back and forth in his office. Spencer followed behind his long-time employer in an effort to calm him down.

"How could this happen? How?" Hartford raged. "Why didn't any of our security devices pick up the intruder?""

"Sir, please!" An exasperated Spencer fussed, taking hold of the man. "You have every reason to be outraged but, at the moment, you're not doing yourself or anyone else any good."

Hartford nodded, letting out a breath. "You're right, Spencer, I'm sorry." He ran a shaky hand through his hair. "How's Mack?"

"No apologies are necessary, sir." The proper family servant regained his composure. "Master Mack is settled in one of the guest rooms. At the moment, he's resting quietly."

"He shouldn't be alone."

"He's not, one of the rangers is with him."

"I hate to think about what might have happened to him if Tyzonn hadn't sensed that something was wrong. After everything we've been through I can't bear the thought of losing him again."

I don't believe you need to worry about that, sir." Spencer said reassuringly. "Master Mack is an extraordinary young man."

Hartford nodded in agreement. "Where are the other rangers?"

"Searching the grounds, as you ordered."

"Mack's room looked like a cyclone had hit it. The rangers didn't find any clues there at all?"

"No, sir, I'm sorry."

"What about the Corona Aurora? And the rest of the house?"

"The rangers did a complete search from top to bottom- there was no evidence of an intruder anywhere else."

"None of this makes any sense, Spencer! I can understand why someone would come after the crown, but why make such an effort just to attack one of the rangers?" Hartford began to pace again. "It's almost as if the intruder knew Mack would be easy to get to."

Spencer shook his head. "I wish I knew, sir. I expect we'll learn the answer to that after Master Mack wakes up and can tell us what happened."

Meanwhile, in the guest room, Tyzonn shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Nerves on edge, his wary eyes glanced around the room. He knew there was no explanation for his continued sense of foreboding; he'd helped with the search of the house and had seen for himself that no intruder had been found.

In spite of that, the Mecurian couldn't help but feel that danger was still lurking nearby.

_It may be hours before Mack wakes up and we find out what happened . . . _The Mecurian took a shaky breath. _Maybe we missed something in Mack's room – maybe that's why I can't I shake this feeling . . . _

He decided to make another brief search of Mack's room while the others were finishing outside.

From the doorway, Tyzonn quickly scanned the remains of Mack's room. It was obvious that the red ranger had put up a fight.

The Mecurian stepped carefully, his search hampered by the shards of broken glass scattered around the bed.

"Nothing . . ." he muttered as he sorted through a pile of debris. Discouraged, he bent down to take one last look around the overturned night table.

Tyzonn gave the tangled bed covers a shake and stopped suddenly. There was a smell coming from the linens that made his stomach lurch.

"What is that?" Forcing himself to ignore the rank odor, Tyzonn began to investigate the linens more closely. Before he could get very far an unexpected voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Tyzonn?"

Startled, the Mecurian glanced up. He saw the younger Hartford leaning against the doorway, using it for support.

"Mack!" Tyzonn scrambled to his feet and went over to help the red ranger. Suddenly, the Mecurian's senses reeled as he detected the faint odor from the bed linens on Mack's clothes.

"Not much time - -" Mack's voice was weak. "Miratrix is back - -she wants the crown."

"Miratrix?" The red ranger's words drove any further thoughts about the strange odor from the Mecurian's mind. "But how? Ronnie and I saw Kamdor destroy her!"

"Don't know- -but she's back," Mack pressed. "Have to get the others - - c-come up with - - a - - plan --to -" His strength used up, the red ranger stopped speaking and swayed unsteadily.

"We need to get you back into bed, " Tyzonn said as he shouldered the other man's weight.

"No!" Mack protested, pushing Tyzonn away. "Find the others - -stop Miratrix- -"

Tyzonn nodded. "We'll take care of Miratrix, don't worry."

Mack leaned back against the doorway and watched as Tyzonn disappeared around the corner. When he was certain that the Mecurian was gone, all traces of weakness suddenly disappeared and the red ranger straightened defiantly.

"First the crown," he muttered coldly, "And then it will be time to teach the rangers a lesson . . ."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A short time later, Spencer marched into his employer's office and, with great flourish, set a round tray down on Hartford's desk.

Determined to ignore the unwanted intrusion, Andrew Hartford kept his attention fixed on his computer monitor for several minutes. Finally, seeing that Spencer was not going to be ignored, Hartford glanced up and eyed the sandwich on the tray.

"What is this, Spencer?" He gave the older man a disdainful look. "I didn't ask for anything."

"That sir," Spencer replied in a no nonsense tone, "is lunch. And I know you didn't request it but I insist that you take a break. There's nothing more that can be done until the rangers report in."

Annoyed, Hartford took off his glasses and tossed them on the desk. "I don't have time eat, Spencer. I need to finish reviewing this tape of the Rangers last battle with Flurious."

"If you'll forgive my saying so, sir, that's not much to go on."

"I know," Hartford agreed. "But I've been thinking about something Dax said earlier, about Mack's germs being alien."

"Do you really think there's a connection to the battle that would explain Master Mack's illness and our intruder?"

"I don't know." Hartford said, shaking his head in frustration. "But there's so much we don't understand about the powers that the Corona Aurora has. It's possible that the rangers were exposed to something during the battle that might explain what's been going on around here. At least I hope

that's- -"

Suddenly, a loud alarm pierced the air, cutting him off in mid sentence. Hartford's fingers scrambled across the keyboard while, at the same time, his eyes scanned the monitor. Then he shot to his feet.

"What is it, sir?" Spencer asked, his eyes growing wide in alarm.

"The intruder is back, this time in the Command Center – alert the rangers and meet me there!"

Hartford took off at a run. By the time Spencer caught up with him a second alarm pierced the air.

"Someone's after the crown!" Hartford shouted.

As they approached the Command Center, the two men heard several rounds of blaster fire. Then they heard the sound of violent explosions that made the two men momentarily cringe.

The air in the Command Center was heavy with smoke so thick that it made the men's eyes sting. In spite of their discomfort, it wasn't hard for either of them to make out the Red Ranger standing in the center of the room, the jeweled crown tucked securely under one arm.

They watched in horror as Mack calmly raised his weapon again and fired at another bank of computers. The blast sent a fresh plume of sparks spraying around the room.

Any elation that Andrew Hartford felt at the sight of Mack's miraculous recovery died quickly. For a long moment, he was unable to believe, despite the evidence of his eyes, that Mack was the intruder.

Next to him, an outraged Spencer, seemingly oblivious to the danger both men were in, boldly stepped forward. "Master Mack! What is going on here?"

Without hesitation, the Red Ranger's weapon answered for him. Mack fired again, forcing Spencer to abruptly step back to avoid the bolt of sparks that hit the ground right in front of the older man.

"That's close enough," Mack ordered coldly. "Next time, I won't miss!"

"This is simply unbelievable, sir!" Spencer sputtered indignantly.

Still unwilling to accept what he was seeing, Hartford struggled to remain in control of his emotions. "You know as well as I do that can't possibly be Mack talking; whoever was here before has some sort of control over him."

"I can't for the life of me figure out who that other person could be!"

"Someone, or something, that wants the crown and knew that Mack could get his hands on it with very little trouble."

Hartford took a deep breath; he was heartsick at the change in his son and the obvious corruption of Mack's personality.

"Okay," he said quietly, "now that you've got the crown and the jewels, what happens next?"

"After I dispose of you and the others, I return the crown and the jewels to their rightful owner."

"The Corona Aurora has no owner." Hartford said. "Whoever told you that was lying."

"You're just saying that because you know the crown doesn't belong to you." Mack glared hatefully at the two men.

"Your father is telling the truth, Master Mack!" Spencer interrupted. "You better than anyone knows how disastrous it would be for us all if the Corona Aurora fell into the wrong hands."

"But it is in the wrong hands – yours!"

"Mack!" Hartford pressed. "If the crown really belongs to someone else, why didn't they come and get it themselves? Why did they send you to steal it?"

_Steal it . . . Steal it . . . _Mack swallowed hard. In his drugged mind, his father's words began to clash with what Miratrix had told him . . .

Meanwhile, in front of the mansion, an impatient Will was pacing back and forth while he waited to rendezvous with the others.

"What's going on?" Dax shouted as he emerged from a nearby thicket of brush. "Why did you call off the search?"

"Because we've got bigger problems right now," Will said. "The intruder is back, this time in the Command Center!"

"But I thought we got rid of all the bad guys!" Dax replied in exasperation.

"I guess we missed one or two."

A few seconds later, they saw Ronnie and Rose running towards them with Tyzonn not too far behind.

"

"What's happening?" A breathless Rose asked.

"The intruder is back, c'mon, we've got to go!"

"Wait!" Tyzonn insisted. "Does this have anything to do with Miratrix."

"Miratrix?" Will asked.

Tyzonn frowned. "Something strange happened earlier. I was searching Mack's room again and when I looked up and he was there."

"But Mack's been out cold for two days." Will retorted

"I know – I told you, it was strange." The Mercurian said. "He told me that Miratrix was back and that she was planning to steal the crown."

"Miratrix again?" Dax shook his head. "Man, my ex just can't bear to be away from me, can she?"

"But we saw Kamdor destroy her!" Ronnie retorted sharply.

"Maybe Mack was delirious," Rose offered. "That's not uncommon for someone in Mack's condition."

"No, I don't think that was it." Tyzonn frowned. "He seemed pretty coherent but . . ."

"But what?" Will pressed.

"When I was searching Mack's room, there was this - - this rank smell in the room. I smelled it again later on, on Mack's clothing, when he was talking to me - -"

"So someone must have spilled some medicine - -" Ronnie began.

At that moment, the air crackled with lightening. The rangers shouted in agony as they felt themselves hurled to the ground by an explosion.

Meanwhile, in the Command Center, Andrew Hartford and Spencer continued to chip away at Mack's resolve to steal the crown. In spite of his best efforts, their pleadings made the confusion he felt grow stronger with each passing second.

"Mack, please - you know the mission of Operation Overdrive is to protect the Corona Aurora. One way or another we'd have to find a way to stop you."

An agonizing pain suddenly stabbed at him. "That's enough talking!" Mack gasped for breath. "Who's going to stop me? You?" He continued speaking, desperate to keep the pain from getting worse. "There's nothing any of you can do, not without destroying me. And we both know that you won't let anyone do that."

"I won't have a choice!" Hartford replied, brushing a shaky hand through his hair. "I have to protect the crown, even if it means losing you."

Then he stopped speaking and looked helplessly at Spencer.

"Master Mack," Spencer added, "you don't have to do this –Your father and I, and all of the other rangers, will help you break free from whoever has this hold over you- -"

The throbbing in his head began to spread through his body until his insides were being wrung out. Mack felt like the walls were closing in around him until even the simple act of breathing was torture.

The Red Ranger glanced down for a moment at the weapon in his hands before looking up at the two men with a pained expression on his face as if he'd suddenly realized what he'd been doing.

"Dad . . ." Mack called weakly. "Dad, "help me - -" he moaned, "Can't do it - - can't - -"

"Mack!" Alarmed, Hartford scrambled towards his son. "Fight it, Mack! I know you can fight this!" Hartford encouraged. "Try, son!"

The throbbing pain was pounding at him, growing so intense that he knew he couldn't stand anymore.

_There's only one thing I can do . . . _Mack thought desperately.

Just then, Spencer saw the Red Ranger's weapon suddenly rise and take careful aim at his employer. He grabbed Hartford's arm and jerked him back.

"Wait, sir!"

In an instant, the tortured look vanished from Mack's face and had been replaced with the ruthless demeanor of before. Once again in the grip of evil, the younger Hartford fired his weapon. This time, the Red Ranger's aim was right on target, grazing Hartford's arm.

Andrew Hartford stared at the growing red stain on his sleeve before stumbling in pain; the surprise of what his son had done plainly registered on his face.

"Sir, we need to get out of here," Spencer said in a low voice, forcing the other man towards the door.

"No, I can't leave Mack like this!" Hartford argued. "You saw as well as I did that there's still a chance to reach him!"

"We can't help him here, sir," Spencer contradicted. "For the moment, whoever is controlling Master Mack has too strong a hold on him. We need to regroup with the others."

Weakness washed over the injured man. He reluctantly nodded in agreement and allowed Spencer to help him.

"Go ahead and run away," Mack's voice taunted. "No matter where you go, it'll be the end for you and the Power Rangers!"

TBC


End file.
